Majora's Mask is considered the darkest of all Zelda games, and with good reason: it's the downbeat flipside to Ocarina's wide-eyed optimism, a grim fairytale where death – in the form of the ever-encroaching moon – literally hangs over your head at all times. You can't really get much darker than constant impending apocalypse.

But perhaps the most troubling moment is a more intimate one. The discovery of Pamela's father in the basement of Music Box House is a real shock. A friendly scientist has been cursed and turned into a Gibdo (a mummy in all but name). As he lurches forward with his monstrous face front and centre, Link echoes the player's reaction by leaping back with a look of genuine horror. Oddly, the technological limitations of the time might have played a major part in making this moment so effective. The unnatural, jerky movements of this poor man are at once tragic and unnerving.

Cubivore - The Whole Thing

Known as Animal Leader in Japan, Nintendo passed up the opportunity to publish Cubivore in the west, with Atlus taking on localisation duties. It is one of the most bizarre games ever to bear Nintendo's name.

A stylised vision of the side of the animal kingdom that you rarely see on National Geographic, Cubivore's subtitle 'survival of the fittest' is a neat summary of the game's ultimate objective. You start as a small cube-shaped creature, which has to evolve and breed to become the world's dominant species. This is achieved by ripping your rivals to shreds and mating to propagate your bloodline. Savage.

Despite the simplistic graphics, combat is still surprisingly violent, letting you physically tear extra "meat flaps" from your foes. The more flaps your animal has, the more attractive you are to the kingdom's females, leading to you and your chosen mate to enter the Love Tunnel for a bout of animal sex before the cycle begins again. "One of the most bizarre videogames ever created," was the understandable IGN verdict.

The brightest and breeziest of all Zelda games, Wind Waker was a Disney cartoon brought to life, its stunning cel-shaded looks and butter-smooth animation making for possibly the most characterful depiction of Link to date. It contributed towards a more whimsical feel, with plenty of light but little of the shade that had defined Majora's Mask.

Yet there is an exception to that rule, and that's the demise of regular antagonist Ganondorf. Naturally, he's been slain by Link a number of times before, but his end in Wind Waker is a spectacularly brutal one that sees our blonde hero leap acrobatically into the air before plunging the Master Sword through Ganondorf's brain. It's a bloodless death – this is Zelda, after all – but the indelible image of Link's blade deeply embedded in the skull of his nemesis still makes us wince.

Super Mario 64 - Mario Drowning

So Mario's deaths aren't usually too harrowing. A bit of "Game Over" music, a swear word or two on your part, he falls of the screen, and bang, you start again, and his demise is barely remembered. His comical collapses in the 3D Mario games don't make much of an impression, either. But when he drowns in Super Mario 64, clutching at his little throat, gurgling and struggling for air before slowly going limp and floating to the surface? That is dark.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Lanaryu's Vision

Pamela's Father might be one of Zelda's darkest story moments, but the creepiest cutscene belongs to Twilight Princess. It arrives as light spirit Lanayru shows Link a vision of the creation of Hyrule to warn him about the ferocious power of the Fused Shadows.

It all starts innocently enough, but soon Link's childhood friend Ilia, standing beside him, is revealed to be holding a knife – the next shot implicitly suggests that Link has stabbed her with his sword. The camera pulls back to reveal Link flanked by Shadows with a wicked smile playing across his lips.

As the light spirits seal away the magical power of the Shadows, we witness the most disturbing sight of all: an extreme close-up of Link's face, blank eyes bulging, mouth widening as he lets out a horrible, wounded scream. Twilight Princess might not be the most celebrated of the Zelda games, but this nightmarish moment is undoubtedly one of the series' best.